Oh! What’s occurin’? Ruth Jones and James Corden talk to heat about the Gavin & Stacey reunion
The creators and stars of legendary sitcom Gavin & Stacey tell Boyd Hilton the secrets behind the new Christmas special
Ruth Jones and James Corden are on the phone to heat – she’s in Wales, he’s in LA – and Ruth keeps telling us amazing stuff about the Gavin & Stacey Christmas Special… and then James keeps having to point out we can’t write about any of it. “There’s the scene in the middle of the episode on Barry Island when Gavin…” begins Ruth excitedly. “… And you can’t write about that,” interjects James. What about the scene in the pub, one of Ruth’s favourites? “Yeah, I loved it,” says James. “But please don’t write about that.” Best of all, Ruth gets into the nitty-gritty of the show’s extraordinary final scene and how she had some doubts about one line… “But you definitely can’t write about that,” James adds firmly.
So, you won’t get any spoilers here. Suffice to say, this is the first new slice of Gav & Stacey action since the New Year’s Day episode of 2010 when Smithy (James) interrupted Nessa (Ruth) and Dave’s wedding to make it clear he would be there for her and Neil the baby, while Stacey finally announced she was pregnant. Since then, Ruth, 53, has created six series of Stella on Sky One, and become a bestselling
novelist, while 41-year-old James has a little US chat-show thing going on. But unbeknownst to the world, the best friends have been secretly plotting the revival of one of Britain’s most-beloved sitcoms, and having been lucky enough to see the resulting new Christmas special in advance, we can confirm it does not disappoint. And that’s an understatement. Here’s how it finally came about…
When you made the last episode ten years ago, did that genuinely feel like the end for you or did you always think you might bring it back? Ruth: We never concretely said we’d go back to it, but every now and then, we’d talk about it. For years, we’ve been texting each other with little ideas, and it was probably about three years ago we seriously thought about doing it, but we just couldn’t find the time to both be in the room together. And then we nearly did it a year after that, but again, we were both too busy. So, the intention has been there for a long time. It was just the practicalities that got in the way. James: And even then, it really was like going back to the start in a way and saying, “Look, we’re really just going to write this for us.” Because from the very beginning, the experience of making Gavin & Stacey has been a joy – all of it, from start to finish. For me, the writing of the show is without question the most fulfilling and most exciting part of it, because I get to be in a room with one of my best friends. R: Aww. J: We just get to try and make each other laugh, and that’s so much fun. R: And it was nice, wasn’t it, James, that the only people we told we were writing this were [their spouses] David and Julia, so we didn’t have any pressure?
Did you have to lie to people? R: I used to lie about it all the time. I didn’t even tell my mother. My stepdaughter thinks I told her at Christmas last year when I was drunk, but she couldn’t remember because she was drunk, too, thank God! J: Our biggest worry was that it would leak somehow, so I wanted to have that photo of the script ready if it did leak, so then we could own the announcement. But in the end, we did manage to keep it a secret. And we only sent the script to the cast the day before we made the announcement. The response took everybody by surprise – the level of warmth for it. I was getting calls from Dad saying, “Mate, it’s on the news!” I couldn’t believe it. R: And it was a great moment because no one knew.
Was there a moment when you knew you were happy to tell the BBC you wanted to make it? J: Yes, there was. We’d talked about it and Ruth had flown out [to LA] for four days in February and we’d written some stuff. Then Ruth came out again, when I had a week off from The Late Late Show, and we’d got to the point where we’d written maybe 40 pages, and we read them back and we both felt there was something missing. And at that point, for about half a day, we kind of gave up on it, didn’t we? R: Yes, at that point, it could have been over. J: We were like, “Well, it isn’t working. Thank God we didn’t tell anybody we were doing it. Thank goodness we kept it a secret and just wrote it for ourselves.” So, we stopped at lunchtime – Ruth went out for the afternoon with her husband and I moped about the house for a bit. Then Ruth came back and we talked about why it wasn’t quite working and what was missing, and we realised there wasn’t enough room for the characters to breathe – especially Gavin and Stacey’s storyline.
It just didn’t feel organic enough. R: Yes, we had an idea where we thought we should do something quite dramatic with Gavin and Stacey – like he was having an affair, perhaps – but then that felt really soapy. J: Yes, it didn’t feel right at all. So, we just sat there talking about who they are and what they represent to us and to people who like the show. And then, in about 90 minutes, we wrote a scene between Gavin and Stacey that comes right in the middle of the episode. And as soon as we’d written that scene, we both got quite emotional because we thought, “There they are, there’s the characters we love.” After we’d written that scene, there was no option really. We just thought, “Right, we have to do this now.” R: And in the end, we didn’t really change that much of the rest of the script. J: Yeah, and I think the next day we decided to call the BBC and see if it was something they’d like. So, we went through the whole raft of emotions of just trying to do it, mainly because we would never take it lightly.
‘Making the show’s been a joy – all of it’ James
We thought we’d only do it if we felt there was a story that was satisfying for us and for the people who like the show. Do you ever disagree? And if so, how do you resolve it? R: It depends how strongly we feel about it. There have been times where we’ve disagreed, but often one of us wins the other round. It’s rare for us to disagree on something that strongly…
J: Yes. R: For example, in the final scene, I was worried when Nessa says the line… J: [Interrupting] Hang on, you can’t write about this! Let’s just say Ruth wasn’t sure about something, and this is where our director, Christine Gernon, who’s directed every episode, comes in and has the deciding vote. You phoned the cast yourselves to get them on board – who had the best reaction to the news? J: That’s easy – Jo Page, bar none. Right, Ruth? R: Yes, she was hysterical really. She squealed. J: She sounded like Stacey. R: A nd when she finally got the script, she kept texting us while reading every half a page. J: Everyone’s reaction was pretty much the same, which was, “Oh. My. God.” A nd then they were like, “Really? F**k! OK!” R: Melanie [who plays Stacey’s mother Gwen] thought it was a hoax when James texted her. J: Yes, I called her and she didn’t pick up, so then I sent a text saying, “Melanie, it’s James Corden. I used to be in a show with you called Gavin & Stacey. I was wondering if you had five mins to chat?” And she didn’t reply. I had to go via back channels to check her number, and then I had to send her a photo of me going, “I need to talk to you” and she finally called me back. I have to say, Melanie hasn’t changed at all in those ten years. If anything, she looks younger. R: That’s Pilates for you! But telling everyone was so fun. It was like when you give someone a present that you know they will really, really love.
How was the read through of the script with the whole cast back together? J: It was very special. I remember I said something to the whole group, and Ruth said something, and then Chris the director said something, and then there was a moment of silence. Suddenly, Alison Steadman [who plays Pamela] said, “Is anyone else absolutely terrified?” And we all just went, “Yep!” That burst any tension in the room. R: And it felt like we hadn’t been away from each other at all. We just got back into the groove of it. Will you both watch it on Christmas Day? J: Yes, I get back home a few days before Christmas and I’ll be watching it with all my family. My mum and dad came to visit me the other week in LA and I offered to show them just a little scene from the new episode. But my mum was adamant that she wanted to wait to see the whole thing on Christmas Day. R: Aww, that’s lovely. I will definitely be watching it live, with my husband and whoever’s around in my family. Finally, will you do more episodes after this? R: My feeling is that this is a lovely present and you should enjoy it before asking what the next present is. J: Yes, we just want it to be a nice thing for people to watch on Christmas Day, and we’ll see what happens after that. ■
Gavin & Stacey is on BBC1, Christmas Day at 8.30pm